Nonlinear pulse propagation in highhyphen;energy glass laser amplifiers

摘要

Characteristics of highhyphen;energy/power amplifiers including largehyphen;signal gain, extraction efficiency, and pulse deformation are analyzed in terms of material and operating parameters. A figure of merit for largehyphen;signal amplifier material is defined, which is inversely proportional to the stimulatedhyphen;emission cross section. A method for detailed pulse tailoring in nonlinear amplifiers is developed. It is found that a high storedhyphen;energy density, which is obtainable with a small stimulatedhyphen;emission cross section, is very important for achieving high gain and tolerable pulse deformation. The high storedhyphen;energy density is also found to be effective for suppressing laser beam degradation due to nonlinear refractivehyphen;index effects.